ONTENTS

Editor’s Bench.

Useful accessories for filmmakers.

-Armor____ 20

EUinaRer son Mostew talks about Special project number two is easy

his Short Film Search winner, Dr. and inexpensive armor for adventure Dobermind. By John Clayton. films. By Ron Miller.

Filmmakers’

I Oo Easy Effects 2 2

Forum______ Make your own filters and create A regular department devoted to dazzling color filter effects. By Jack readers’ comments and cor- Imes, Jr. respondence about fantasy filmmaking.

Producers’ Camera Bulletin Stabilizer__ i2 Board

One of three special projects in this “ issue. Build it yourself and save Latest news of our readers’ $16,000! By Jack Imes, Jr. productions.

Issue #25

Cinemagic Marketplace

Classified advertising and announcements.

Electronic

Special project number three isa build-it-yourself digital frame counter for special effects experts and advanc- ed animators. By Chris E. Stevens.

Shooting Stills_

Some helpful tips on the art of shooting publicity stills for movies. By John Dods.

Issue #25

Publishers Norman Jacobs/Kerry O’Quinn

Associate Publisher Rita Eisenstein

Assistant Publisher Milburn Smith

Circulation Director Robert Rachoi

Editor David Hutchison

Art Director W.R. Mohalley

Managing Editor John Clayton

Associate Art Director Neil Holmes

Senior Designer Denise Lewis

Associate Editor Leslie N. Stackel

Designers Marilyn Pierce Georgia Kanelous

Editorial Contributors John Dods Jack Imes, Jr. Ron Miller Jon Mostow Chris E. Stevens

Special Projects Linda Laias Damon Santostefano

Production Assistants Ed Berganza Nicholas “Moe” Dias Chris Kwiath Teresa Pariselli Andrea Passes

—— een

Financial Manager Joan Baetz

Founder of CINEMAGIC Don Dohler

Published by STARLOG PRESS, INC. 475 Park Ave. South New York, NY 10016

Advertising Information: Rita Eisenstein (212) 689-2830

About the cover: The bloody severed hand is a frame blow-up from Jon Mostow's very scary film, Dr. Dobermind. Mostow’s film was 2 winner in the 1983 CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search and can be seen on HBO. See the On Location section on page 6. Filmmaker Tim Sullivan acts as an on-set publicity photographer to illustrate John Dods’ article about taking publicity stills. The article appears on page 32. Photo is by author John Dods.

4 CINEMAGIC#25

BENCH

An Open Letter From The Publisher

You're Invited!

ast year | attended about 20 science fiction, comics and other types of conventions—

more than one amonth—all across the country, from Seattle to Memphis to Toronto (just

north of the border). | had a great time! | talked with scores of fans, met new friends, and learned a lot.

But this year | will attend only three conventions.

Some of you already know the reason why. Our publishing company has teamed up with Crea- tion Conventions, an organization that has been producing fan events for over 10 years. We decided to combine their expertise in managing live gatherings with our expertise in pleasing fans, and to produce a series of major conventions that will be unique, worthwhile and tons of fun!

So, this year, | will attend only our own conventions.

Right from the start, | was determined that any con with our magazine names attached would have to be different. And they will be. Our programming will be carefully planned and original (not the ordinary stuff), our guests will be selected because of their professional accom- plishments, their eye-to-eye relationship with fans, and their personal qualities (nobody who's aloof, cold or egotistical), and our scheduling will be professional (not the usual chaos).

Even the nameis different. We aren't calling them conventions (because they aren't); they are celebrations, and the name is “The Official STARLOG Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Festival.” They are presented by the staff of FANGORIA, CINEMAGIC and STARLOG magazines, and editors from all three publications will join me at each Official STARLOG Festival. They will be there to meet you, the readers, and talk with you in person.

Each magazine will hold a film festival (in the case of CINEMAGIC, we'll screen the best win- ners from the Short Film Search), and we will feature “Major Studio Preview Presentations, both days, for movies such as Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, The Last Starfighter, 201 O—The Odyssey Continues, Dune, Supergirl, Star Trek Ill —The Search for Spock and at least adozen more important films of the future.

We will have a special “3-D in Film” presentation, and everyone will get his own pair of free 3-D glasses. We will have “Career Workshops” in SF Writing, Illustration, and other categories, taught by some of the top professionals in the country. We will have a “Museum Gallery” featuring original paintings from the STARLOG collection and pre-production art from major movies. Of course, we'll have celebrity panels, video and slide shows, demonstrations of makeup and special effects, entertainment, merchandise for sale, games, contests, prizes and souvenirs for everyone.

But the main thing you'll take away with you is not something you can hold in your hand. You see, my most profound goal for the Official STARLOG Festivals is that we create an emotional structure to the whole weekend, so that you will leave feeling refreshed, informed and inspired.

If youremember reading my account of the Ultimate Fantasy, you know that I have had some rotten experiences at poorly-run conventions. | guess we all have. Recently, we asked you, our readers, to give us ideas on what kind of convention you want, and we have combined those responses with my own ideas, and those of my staff and the Creation people. We have come up with a weekend festival that will let everyone who attends return to the everyday routine with anew “tingle” in their blood.

This is not the kind of gathering you attend just for one day. Come, join us for the entire weekend, stay at the hotel, and put yourself in our tender, loving hands. Tickets will be strictly limited, so] suggest you make plans and reservations right now (see address in the ad on page 5 of this issue.)

Please consider this public letter as a personal invitation to all my friends who read and en- joy FANGORIA, CINEMAGIC and STARLOG. I know you'll find the Official STARLOG Festival to be arare and stimulating experience—and truly look forward to meeting many new friends and sharing memorable times together. Hopefully, the best of times. . .

Kerry O’Quinn/Publisher

CINEMAGIC is published bi-monthly by STARLOG PRESS, INC. 475 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. This is issue #25 (Volume 5, No. 1). ISSN #0090-3000. Content is © 1984 by STARLOG PRESS, INC. All rights reserved. Reprint or reproduction of any material in part or in whole without written permission from the publishers is strictly for- bidden. CINEMAGIC accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, art or other material, but if freelance submittals are accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope, they will be considered and, if necessary, returned. Products advertised are not necessarily endorsed by CINEMAGIC, and any views expressed in editorial copy are not necessarily those of CINEMAGIC. Subscription rates: $9.98 for one year (six issues) delivered in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, foreign subscription $14.48 in CS. funds only. New Subscriptions: send directly to CINEMAGIC, c/o STARLOG PRESS, INC., 475 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. Notification of change of address or renewals send to CINEMAGIC. Subscription Dept. P.O. Box 142, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0142. Postmaster: Send form 3579 to CINEMAGIC, P.O. Box 142, Mt. Morris, IL.61054. Application to mail second class is pending at New York, NY and other locations. Printed in U.S.A.

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OCATION

Jon Mostow’s ‘‘Dr. Dobermind”’

Filmmaker Jon Mostow’s Frightening tale was a hit at the 1983 CINEMAGIC/SVA Awards Show and can be seen on HBO.

his year's CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search attracted many fine films that obviously were the pro- duct of talent and hard work. One of the most memorable of these films was Dr. Dobermind, a disturbing psychodrama about a mad taxidermist whose menac- ing demeanor inspires gruesome waking nightmares in a young girl’s mind. Dr. Dobermind is the work of Jon Mostow, a filmmaker of considerable talent who both wrote and directed the scary tale. The audience first meets Jenny, in her prep school uniform, as she browses a

6 CINEMAGIC#25

Dr. Dobermind’s decapitated head appears in Jenny’s closet in a scene from Jon Mostow’s film. Peter Miller designed the makeup effects sequences.

By JOHN CLAYTON

museum displaying the stuffed and

skeletal remains of various wild animals. She is obviously on aclass trip and is ap- parently spooked by the museum's creepy atmosphere. The dead creatures’ eyes seem to follow her as she walks past. The teacher rounds up her students and takes them to meet Dr. Dobermind, the museum’s taxidermist. He’s utterly mad. The class is treated to the educational ex- perience of witnessing Dr. Dobermind’s grisly work. As the teacher babbles, Dr. Dobermind fondles the bloody organs of some poor dead beast. When the teacher

When Jenny opens her drawer to put her watch away, she finds a severed hand. It’s just a nightmarish hallucination inspired by meeting Dr. Dobermind.

comments that Dr. Dobermind must real- ly love animals, he responds: ‘| hate animals! The animals in my laboratory are nothing more than molten jelly-like lumps of rotting flesh. Every putrid car- cass reeks from pustulous fungal excre- tions. My animals are a loathesome con-

flagration radiating horrible misery from.

the bowels of death!” Then he shoots a menacing stare at poor Jenny and infers foul intentions by adding: “What 1 much prefer are the higher primates!” At this point he further terrorizes the girls by smashing the liver in the specimen pan

! 4 a. 2 zs % E 4 - ae Ps a ; iP ¥

into a pulp with a huge knife.

After this experience, Jenny goes home and has paranoid hallucinations of dismembered parts of Dr. Dobermind’s body turning up all over her house. She opens up her drawer to put her watch away and sees a severed hand, still drip- ping fresh blood. She goes to the linen closet and finds Dr. Dobermind’s decapi- tated head smiling an evil grin and drip- ping still more blood from the corner of his mouth. She goes in the bathroom and sees him behind her just before he disem- bowels her with a scapel. She’s clearly distressed, and by this time so is the au- dience. There is no happy ending when she goes running downstairs for her dad- dy and finds Dr. Dobermind instead of daddy behind the newspaper in the easy chair.

“| made Dr. Dobermind to show that | could make a film on time and on bud- get,” Jon Mostow begins. “It was a direc- torial demo reel that | made as a thesis film at Harvard, where | studied filmmak- ing. Harvard concentrates on documen- tary filmmaking, but! wanted to makea narrative fantasy film. It was unlike any other film ever made there. :

“| got the idea for Dr. Dobermind after

Jenny looks in the bathroom mirror and thinks she sees Dr. Dobermind behind

her, getting ready to disembowel her with a scalpel.

[had viewed the audition tapes of the two principal players, Hugh F. d’Autremont, who played Dr. Dobermind and Jennifer Jacobi, who played Jenny. | was audition- ing them for a completely different pro- ject, but they both had such terrific screen presence that! wanted to createa vehicle to showcase their talents and hopefully entertain an audience at the same time. | came up with the basic story while 1 was walking home from viewing the audition tapes, and! wrotethe whole script within a matter of a few hours as soon as | got home. The finished film is very much like that first draft script. There were virtually no dialogue or story changes. The idea was to make a film quickly for a small amount of money. In retrospect, | have come up with an ending that | think would work better than the one inthe film, but! guess that’s the price you pay for working fast. Still, | feel that the film is successful in involving the au- dience in an entertaining story.

‘The entire film was shot in one week- end for a total budget of about 2,500. The only experienced members of the crew were the cinematographer, Peter Rader, and the sound people, Susan Todd and Reggie Hutlin. All the other crew

vas

members were enthusiastic novices who wanted to get some experience working on a film. | was lucky to find the people | did, who were willing to work for nothing, because there wasn’t any money in the budget for paying crew members. “Peter Miller created the makeup ef- fects and designed and storyboarded the makeup effects sequences,’ Mostow ac- knowledges. “The makeup effects se- quences were the only shots in the film that were fully storyboarded. | prepared very rough outlines of the rest of the se- quences in the film the night before shooting. I’m pretty good at visualizing in my head, sol just made sketchy notes of all the shots I'd need to cover a scene.” - Perhaps the most frightening of the makeup effects scenes is the one in which Jenny opens her dresser drawer and thinks that she sees a severed hand. Of course the audience sees the bloody hand right along with Jenny, and it’s especial- ly startling (as if a severed hand in your dresser wouldn't be enough to throw you) because the hand reacts when Jenny drops her watch on it by coming alive. She slams the drawer shut in a frenzy. A mo- ment later she reopens it in an effort to check her sanity, and finds it empty. She

As Jenny looks in the mirror, she sees horrible visions of her own corpse being

eaten by worms. ‘‘The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out...’’

CINEMAGIC ¥25— i

The utterly mad Dr. Dobermind in his laboratory. To quote the doctor: ‘‘My animals are molten, jelly-like lumps of rotting flesh. . .radiating horrible misery from the bowels of death!”’

sighs with relief, but there are other devilish visions still in store for her. “The first shot in the severed hand se- quence is a wide shot that shows the dresser with the open drawer and the hand inside,’ Mostow reveals. “The drawer was lined with very distinctive paper—comic panels of the Incredible Hulk. The hand "was just a store-bought rubber hand that Peter Miller touched up by sewing hairs onto it, dulling it with makeup and dous- ing it with stageblood. Then we cut to a reaction shot of Jenny’s terrified face. When we cut back to the hand we see the watch that Jenny’s dropped in fright and we see the hand open up. This was a pick- up shot that we shot about a month later. A real hand, in closeup was stuck through a hole of a piece of cardboard that was covered with the same Incredible Hulk paper. A latex appliance on the wrist creates the illusion of the stump of a severed hand—and of course there's lots of blood to distract you from studying the appliance too closely. We see the watch drop—a continuation of the action of the establishing shot—and we see the hand open up. The distinctive background of

8 CINEMAGIC #25

the Incredible Hulk paper reinforces the il- lusion that you're just looking at a tighter shot of the hand inside of the drawer. | wanted to use Mickey Mouse paper but it wasn’t available in the local store at the time and a filmmaker has to make some concessions along the line.”

If the severed hand gag wasn’t enough for the folks in the audience with cast-iron stomachs, the decapitated head in the linen closet was bound to get them, especially because Dr. Dobermind was smiling his evil little smile through it all and is surrounded by cute little stuffed animals—the very symbols of childhood security. Then there was the disembowel- ment scene—a panic of sheer terror that was really nothing more than a heart- stopping figment of the imagination.

“The disembowelment scene is the makeup effects scene that | am least hap- py with,” Mostow confesses. ‘It’s the on- ly scene in which any true violence is committed—even though when Jenny gasps both Dr. Dobermind and her fatal knife wound disappear. All the other makeup shots are just nightmare images. As gruesome as they are, severed hands

and heads can’t hurt you—unless they frighten you to death. | feel that the other effects shots serve the story better, because they terrify without depicting realistic violence—severed heads don't break out into evil grins. | even considered cutting the disembowelment scene from the film, but after some deliberation | decided to leave it in. It’s graphic violence, but it’s just a hallucination that's over ina split second.”

One of the other aspects of Dr. Dober- mind that adds impact and production value to the film is its eerie and unsettling musical score. The music builds the ten- sion with strange vocal incantations that seem to suggest the presence of evil.

“The score was written by Duncan Millar, who at the time was a student at the Berkeley School of Music in Boston,” Mostow discloses. “He really helped set the mood with his score. | was very in- volved in choosing the instrumentation, but Duncan’s contribution to the overall impact of the film is very substantial. There are about fifteen musicians perfor- ming on the soundtrack. All of the musi- cians were students at Berkeley School of Music. There were about twenty tracks on the original recording. The music was recorded at the Berkeley School of Music, then | did a pre-mix at Harvard. The final mix was done at Du-Art Studios in Boston. The sound is very full and that fullness makes it very powerful, it evokes a strong. emotional response. It also adds tremen- dous production value.

“The museum location used in the film was the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard,” Mostow reveals. “We were very lucky in getting cooperation in secur- ing all of our locations. We shot the whole film in one weekend and we were never at any location for more thana half day. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Jenny goes into an ice cream parlor on her way home from the museum and sees Dr. Dobermind behind the counter. He an- nounces in a threatening tone that the on- ly flavor available is vanilla and that it’son- ly being served in cones. Then he crushes the cone between his fingers as he hands it to Jenny. It’s a funny scene because of the way it’s played, and it adds a touch of comic relief. | had become friends with the owner of a local Haggen-Dazs parlor, and was able to persuade him to let me use his store as a location.

“Of all of the members of the crew, Peter Rader, the cinematographer, made the biggest contribution to the final look of the film,” Mostow exposes. “Peter is a wonderful cinematographer, and | was especially lucky to get him to work on Dr. Dobermind. He was very much in demand shooting other people’s films, but he managed to find the time to work on Dr. Dobermind. We have since become good friends and business partners, and we made the move out to Hollywood togeth- er. We're currently involved in developing

several properties which Peter will shoot and | will direct. One of our most promis- ing projects is a feature-length comedy. We’re also working on putting together a rock video demo which will feature a zany troupe of actors and which will have ex- tremely high production values on a mod- est budget. We're very interested in break- ing into the rock video market, so we're putting this demo together to take around to convince producers that we're capable of delivering the goods. We've got several irons on the fire and we'll be in production on one of them within a month or so.

“Dr. Dobermind has been sold to HBO for asix month contract. They'll show it 14 times over six months. They pay $175 per minute, and my distributor takes 30%. I’ve made about a dozen films, and two others are in distribution. One is a docu- mentary about the college spring break in Daytona Beach, Florida called Where the Boys Went that shows the wild party scene that Daytona has become rather famous for. The other is a documentary about stu- dent activism in the ’80s called Action for a Change. | also made a promo film about Florida vacations for a New York-based travel firm.

“My advice to young filmmakers is to practice your craft as much as you can,” Mostow suggests. “There are many things you can learn while working in the Super-8 format that apply equally in the 16mm and 35mm formats. You can learn how to move the camera and strive for the highest possible production values. I've seen some people achieve amazing pro- duction values in Super-8. They just put forth the extra effort. They build their own little camera cranes and other gadgets that improve production values immense- ly. [See Ken Walker's article about building your own camera crane in issue #16. Also see Jack Imes’ article about building your own camera stabilizer in this

issue.] Super-8 allows you to learn all the basics of filmmaking without going broke in the process. Then, when you ve devel- oped your filmmaking talent, you can move up to 16mm and you'll be ready— you'll know what to do with the camera.

“My own interests lie in directing,” Mostow concludes. “I’m not really in- terested in the technical side of filmmak- ing except in how it serves the story. I just want to tell a story with film. I’m also a writer because you have to be a writer to get to be a director.”

Jon Mostow is working hard to achieve his goal of directing feature films. He’s been at it a long time and he’s not about to give up. It’s a long, hard road to the director's chair in Hollywood, and it’s never reached without hard work and de- termination. As far as the audience at the 1983 CINEMAGIC/SVA Awards Cere- mony was concerned, Jon Mostow has al- ready proven that he knows how to direct films, and we're looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future. OM

STARLOG’s special effects wiz- ard, David Hutchison, has com- piled a spectacular new addition to the famous STARLOG Photo © Guidebook series of quality paper-

backs. In one deluxe volume is a col- lection of the best articles on 3-D techniques, movies, comics, and © much more!!!

articles by 3-D experts on state-of-the-art technology and is illustrated with hundreds of photos and special art. “Fantastic 3-D” is the one authoritative volume covering every aspect of this incredible field.

SPECIAL 3-D VIEWERS INCLUDEDIN EACH BOOK.

The Newest and Most Print

$TAMLOG. Photo Guidebook

Complete index of-3-D comics & magazines!

Complete guide to 3-D movies (credits, plots, etc.).

How to make your own 3-D photos with any camera!

Sources of 3-D equipment and supplies!

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List of 3-D clubs worldwide! NASA/Mars 3-D photos!

How 3-D TV works!

History of 3-D!

Movie special effects in 3-D!

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8 Please allow 3-6 weeks for delivery. a

Filmmakers’

FORUM

A regular department devoted to readers’ comments about filmmaking, their problems and solutions.

CINEMAGIC/SVA Winner Receives CINE EAGLE

...Former CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search winner Damon Santostefano has been awarded the celebrated CINE EAGLE for his film, Greenpoint: Turning the Tide. The award was given in token of his excellence as a director, and was presented by the Council of International Nontheatrical Events (CINE) at its Annual Awards ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Santo- stefano was a winner of the 1980 CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search for his film, Roublex O.M.F. (See the Profile section in CINEMAGIC #7).

Greenpoint: Turning the Tide is a lyrical documentation of the ailing Brooklyn, New York waterfront, and it dramatizes some very ambitious plans to rehabilitate this historic area in- to aresidential and commercial complex.

Professional juries also selected Greenpoint to represent the United States in future inter- national motion picture events throughout the world.

For further information write to Damon Santostefano, DM Productions, 155 East 23rd St., New York, NY 10010; or write to CINE at the address below.

CINE

1201 16th St., N.W. Room 105 Washington, D.C. 20036

Michigan Filmmaker Seeks Same

...I’man 18-year-old who is | very interested in getting into filmmaking. I’m a good writer and have many ideas and would like to join with anybody in my area (tri-country) to make a film. Chuck Cochran 1737 Wordsworth Ferndale, MI 48220

City Lights Through my experience in filmmaking, | have discovered a way to create the effect of city lights glowing in the distance.

. The effect is both simple, and inexpensive. What you will need is a large piece of black paper, and some sugar. Now take the black paper, and lay it flatona table-top. Next, sprinkle some sugar all over the center of it. Using a ruler, allign the sugar

10 CINEMAGIC#25

granules into rows, and col- umns. These lines will represent your city streets.

Now that you have made this, take your camera and aim it at the miniature set. Now you must take the camera and place a bright light out of its range (directly beside it), and turn it on. Finally. . . Film it. What you have just created is a miniature replica of a city as seen from 20,000 feet, in the middle of the night.

Jonathan Banta - 1131 Washington St. Douglas, Wyoming 82633

Fountain Valley Film Festival

...A May 1, 1984, deadline for entering Fountain Valley School of Colorado’s 18th an- nual nationwide student film festival has been announced by Tim Knox, headmaster.

Competition is open to amateur filmmakers attending high school of college. Winners will be announced during the festival, May 11, 1984.

Contestants may submit en- tries in 8mm, including Super-8, 16mm and video. Sound and silent films are accepted. Prizes will be offered in each of the competition's three divisions: high school, college, and video. First prize in the judgings of both high school and college 8mm and 16mm film will be $500, with a second prize of $100 in each division. The com- petition offers a single, $200 prize in the video category, in which high school and college level entries will be judged together.

Winners in all categories will be selected on the basis of quali- ty, technique and style. The same criteria will determine which films will be shown dur- ing the festival, Knox said.

The festival is dedicated to the memory of actress Dominique Dunne, a 1977 Fountain Valley School graduate who went on to a professional career in Hollywood and starred in Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist. She died in 1982. A memorial fund established in her honor by her family and friends provides the financing for the festival.

Festival entry fees are $10 for 8mm, $25 for 16mm, and $10 for video. Entry forms and addi- tional information are available through Dianne Harrison at the

address below: Fountain Valley School of Colorado Colorado Springs, co 80911 (303) 390-7035

Buckeye Cattle Call

. .. 1 am desperately looking for people to participate in a film. | need actors mostly, but makeup artists, prop assistants or just plain idea men would also be ap- preciated. Incidentally, I’m available for other people's pro- ductions as well. If you live in the Cincinnatti/Hamilton Coun- ty area and wish to get involved, please call me at: (513) 793-6988 or write to me at the address below.

Tom Paoloni

9505 Longren Ct.

Cincinnatti, OH 45242

Film vs Video .. .First off, let me commend you guys on the great job you're doing. Amateur filmmakers have needed a magazine like CINEMAGIC a long time. I es- pecially like your policy of prin- ting readers’ addresses so that they can correspond with other people who have the same interests.

One of the things | like best about CINEMAGIC is that your articles are of benefit to both film and video producers (the ar- ticles about makeup, script- writing, special effects, etc.). | don’t want to sound like I’m put- ting video people down, but | think they may be getting seduced by the convenience of video tape.

Look: following the initial in- vestment of a VCR and a video camera, video tape runs about $10 or so per cassette, which gives its user up to six hours of entertainment in color, and with sound to boot! A filmmaker us- ing Super-8 color with sound chucks out more than that (in- cluding processing) for tree minutes of stuff he may or may not be happy about, but has to live with. Video tape can be used over and over if something goes wrong. This makes it sound like video tape would be a better in- vestment, but it isn't.

Suppose a producer spends a lot of time and money on a pro- duction done entirely on video tape. What can he do with it? He can’t sell it to the movies (of course), so he can sell it to tele-

vision, right? Not necessarily.

If you look at your TV screen closely, you'll see that the pic- tures are made up Of lines of dots. These lines are broadcast by the television stations in much the same way that Morse code messages are sent over telegraph wires—only a heck of a lot faster. A similar picture recorded on video tape must have a minimum number of lines per screen [525 lines] to be termed what the TV stations call “broadcast quality” or simply, good enough to broadcast. Any- thing lower than that comes over the air waves full of glitches, black lines and strange color separations.

An $800 home video camera does not record with “broadcast quality’—nor do they claim to. A camera that does record with broadcast quality—such as the remote or even studio cameras used by TV stations— will cost thousands of dollars.

On the other hand, 8mm or Super-8 film (as well as 16mm) can be transferred to video tape at broadcast quality as easy as pie, thus making your film available to a number of markets. It all boils down to this: you can play around with video as much as you like, but if you're an amateur with hopes of actual- ly selling something someday, film is the way to go.

Tim Frayser 2257DS. 96S. Ave. Tulsa, OK 74129

California Film Company

_..I’ma filmmaker attending USC Film School. I'm forming a new production company en- titled Airborne Films, Inc. If there is anyone in the Los Angeles area who is interested in joining Airborne Films who has a special skill that would be useful for filmmaking, please contact me at the address below.

Airborne Films, Inc.

c/o Raymond A. Gonzales

7507 Beck Ave.

North Hollywood, CA

91605

SPFX Schools? ...lama young filmmaker seeking information on special effects schools (if there are any). If such schools exist, could you please send me a list of them and include information about

their locations. Here’s a photo of one of my spaceship models. William Hager 635 S. Benton Marshall, MO 65340

. . . There is no such thing as a special effects school. However, many film schools teach courses in special effects. A good guide for choosing a film school is The American Film Institute Guide to College Courses in Film and Television, published by Peterson's Guides of Princeton, New Jersey. The book lists hun- dreds of colleges that offer ‘courses in film and television and lists such pertinent information as: the degree offered, the titles of all courses in film and TV offered, the number of students enrolled in the film major, financial aid opportu- nities, facilities and equipment available, special activities, ad- mission requirements, and name of the person to contact. Schools are listed under the state that they rein, which make finding one in your area (or an area you'd like to go to college in) very easy.

Peterson's Guides also pub- lishes Summer Opportunities for Kids and Teenagers, which lists activities (including filmmaking), that you can become involved in over the summer. If you aspire to be a special effects artist, the best approach is to attend a film school and get a job in the indus- try after graduation.

The American Film Institute Guide to College Courses in Film and Television, seventh edi- tion, can be ordered directly from Peterson's Guides. Send $11.50, plus $2.00 for shipping and handling, to: Book Order Depart- ment, Peterson's Guides, Dept. 3709, P.O. Box 2123, Princeton, NJ 08540. For Peterson's Sum- mer Opportunities for Kids and Teenagers, send $9.95 plus $1.25 for shipping and handling to the above address. Don't forget to specify the title you want.

Stanley Kubrick Talent Search

. . .Director Stanley Kubrick— whose films include, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove and The Shining—is conducting a nation- wide talent search for new faces to play the parts of young marines in his new film Full Metal Jacket, based on the novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford who served as a Marine in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. Filming will begin in the autumn ‘of 1984.

The story follows 18-year-old Marine recruit, Private Joker, from his carnage-and-machismo initiation rites at the Marine Corp Parris Island Training Camp, where his drill instructor

yourself and your interests.

brags about the marksmanship of Ex-Marines Lee Harvey Oswald and Charles Whitman, to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Vietnam during the 1968 TET Offensive.

Anyone interested in doing an audition video tape for a part in this film should follow the in- structions below:

HOW TO DO AN AUDITION VIDEO TAPE

1. Use a ¥2 inch VHS or Sony Betamax home video recorder and camera set-up.

2. If the VHS recorder runs at two speeds use the faster of the two speeds.

3. Wear a T-shirt and pants. 4. Start the video recording with about a three-minute acting

scene. Do any scene you think appropriate and with which you | the “Five-Best” winners and cer- feel comfortable. tificates to “Honorable Mention”

5. Next, do about a minute or | winners. so telling something about Films will be judged in Chicago and winning films will

6. Next, hold up a piece of be shown at the International paper on which you have clearly | Convention of the Photographic printed your name, address, Society of America in Chicago, phone number, age, and date of: | Illinois, August 20-25, 1984. birth. While you are doing this All entries must be received say the same information out by the Festival Chairman on or loud. before June 15, 1984. For com-

7. Last of all, do a close-up plete rules and entry forms, and a full length shot of yourself | please write: on the video, from a front view and a left and right profile.

Emil Bilisko, FSAC,

8. Stick a label onto the PSA/MPD Teenage cassette with your name, ad- Film Festival dress, telephone number and 1508 West Erie Street age clearly printed on it. Unfor- Chicago, Illinois 60622 tunately, we cannot return any of the video tapes. Icky Membrane Stuff

. .. | ve discovered something that works great for a “mem- brane” effect—it’s the toy plastic bubble dough that comes in tubes and is available in just about any store that has a toy department. You know the stuff, it comes in tubes and you squeeze it onto the end of a straw and you blow through the other end to make plastic bub- bles. It’s great stuff because it’s see-through, icky-looking, comes in different colors and is readily available. You can film through the outside to see the inside—and it’s cheap.

Also, I’ve found that if you want to paint over latex, mixing eyelash adhesive with acrylic students enrolled in any school, | paint works great. It just goes to public or private, in the 9th show that you don’t have to go through 12th grades. Entires are | halfway around the world or limited to students in the United | spend tons of money for good States and Canada. effects.

Entries may be Regular-8, Webster Colcord Super-8 or 16mm. The films 33472 McKensie View Dr. may be in black and white or col- Eugene, OR 97401 or. They may be silent or sound (optical, magnetic or sound-on- tape). Length of films should not exceed a running time of 30 minutes. Entry fee is $3.00 CS. currency. Trophies awarded to

9. Air mail the cassette ina padded bag to Stanley Kubrick, Warner Bros., 135 Wardour Street, London, WIV 4AP England.

Full Metal Jacket will be writ- ten, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick for release world-wide by Warner Bros.

PSA/MPD TEENAGE FILM FESTIVAL

... | he Motion Picture Division of the Photographic Society of America announces its Annual Teenage Film Festival Competi- tion which will be conducted by the Motion Picture Division of the Society. This competition will be held exclusively for

THE SMALL SCHOOL DIFFERENCE

... Upon reading CINEMAGIC #23, 1 found your interview with

“Chuckie. . . that’s not what | meant when | said, ‘Get the matte’!’’

Hugh Stegman on Zyzak is King to be very interesting. However, Mr. Stegman claims that going to USC has a big advantage in that the “students get access to amazingly sophisticated equip- ment.” He later goes on to say that one kid in his class shot an assignment with a Panaflex camera, which he follows with “try that in a midwestern film school.”

While it’s obvious that not everyone can be accepted or af- ford USC, some people do very interesting work without fancy equipment, in other smaller col- leges and universities. | attend Rutgers University, and while we don't have the best equipment, we still make very good films because we divise great story- lines to work with. That’s the problem with film schools like USC: the students are all spoiled with the best equipment, and therefore don’t think of good plots for their stories:

| got to see Zyzak is King, and while the film is technically good, it suffers from an extreme- ly weak story line. I’ve always felt that a great film always begins with a healthy plot, something which we in smaller institutions are compelled to develop, and we usually do. Try that in some big film school like USC!

P.S. | enjoyed your fifth annu- al CINEMAGIC/SVA Awards Presentation night, and I’m look- ing forward to next year’s con- test.

Carlos Garcia 162-59th St., Apt. -B5 West New York, NJ 07093

Address all correspondence to: CINEMA GIC—Filmmakers'

Forum, c/o Starlog Press, Inc., 475 Park Ave. So., New York, NY 10016

Due to the enormous volume of mail received, the editor regrets individual replies are impossible.

CINEMACIC #25

The Floating Effect

Build this home-made camera stabilizer yourself and

save $16,000! By JACK IMES, JR.

Jack Imes with his home-made camera stabilizer. When used with a video camera, the counter weight can be the outfit’s battery pack. A modified crutch is the main support pole.

12 CINEMAGIC #25

PHOTOS: JACK IMES, JR.

common problem with hand-

held camera shooting is the jitter

and shake as the camera opera- tor moves while shooting the scene. Tripods give a rock-steady picture, but don’t allow much movement other than tilts and pans. Dolly platforms put a camera on wheels but require special tracks and people to push while the camera moves through a scene. The best way to carry a portable camera is with a “body mount” device. The body mount attaches around the operator’s waist and keeps the camera balanced while in use. A camera stabilizer is a body mount that uses springs and shock absorbers to cancel the shake and jitter, delivering a rock-steady picture while the operator is inmotion. |

A famous stabilizer design is the Steadicam® invented by cinemato- grapher Garrett Brown. This Oscar- winning device has been used in many films, including Rocky, The Shining, Wolfen and Return of the Jedi. It delivers dolly-smooth, shake-free handheld shots as the cinematographer walks, runs, climbs stairs, or rotates to follow the scene action. | had seen plenty of Steadicam® shots in films and! wished I could use one in my own film and video projects. Unfortunately it is an expensive device—even a used one costs over $16,000! I decided to try building my own camera stabilizer using cheap materials. Illustrations on this page show my home- brew device which | call a “Cam-Glide” for short.

Although the stabilizer looks com- plicated and heavy, it is lightweight and easy to build. The camera (a video camera is shown, but a Super-8 or 16mm can be used) is fully controlled by the operator. In fact, the camera seems “weightless” because the metal spring-action arm of the stabilizer carries the weight. The ac- tual camera weight is transferred to the large chest brace instead of the operator's hand. Now the camera can be easily moved within the swing of the mechani- cal arm, raised or lowered at will, and even rotated 360 degrees while shooting. The arm’s parallelogram design keeps the camera level at all times. Best of all, the arm’s spring-action absorbs any shock as the operator walks around or climbs a stairway. The camera remains in a ba- lanced free-floating stable position regardless of how the operator moves. No gyroscopes or electronic control devices are used.

My design is similar to the basic parts of a Steadicam® , although I’ve made many changes to make a simple and ex- tremely cheap, but useful stabilizer. In the close-up photos you can see that the homemade device is made up of square aluminum tube sections, hook-end springs, nuts-and-bolts, and even a modified crutch! The arm’s joints are made from door hinges and bolted hard- ware. Ordinary tools, such as a power hand drill, hacksaw, pliers and other tool box standards, were used to work the metal pieces into shape. | made the entire device in two weekend sessions and it cost about $25 (because | bought items in second-hand shops except for hardware such as nuts-and-bolts, hinges, and springs. Brand-new materials will raise the collective cost of the device).

If you are interested in this Cam-Glide stabilizer, | suggest you study the photos

‘to see what’s involved in the construction. I’m handy with tools sol had no problem making the parts. However, some readers may find this project too complicated. Since the details of construction are too complex for explanation in this article, |

_ se *

The extended mechanical arm is shown above.

can send a complete “blue-print” descrip-

tion of how I made the device to any in-

terested readers. To obtain a copy write: CAM-GLIDE, Box 2777, lowa City, lowa, 52244. You must include eight 20-cent postage stamps in your letter to cover postage, handling, and copy costs. Be sure to print, not write, your address clear-

ly on your request.

Close-up photos show the extended mechanical support pole. You can see how the springsare arranged to give “lift” to the camera (which would be in the un- seen upper-left). Double hinges form the “elbow” and “shoulder” joints of the arm.

Examine the detail of the arm’s moving end. The central rod supports the vertical pole by the special device shown in the photos.

The white object in the photo is a ball- and-cup nylon joint made from a cheap shower head. The design gives free move- ment in any swivel direction without re- sorting to hingers, pins, or other linkage. This design is easy to use andisa core ele- ment of the homemade stabilizer. The wide plate a few inches above the ball joint is the flat camera base support. You

. ee ae 3 2 PPS Pe oe PS, ays

Note the placement of

: * SSF : Examine the detail of the stabilizer’s moving end. Central rod supports vertical pole.

CINEMAGIC #25 13

PRESERVATION!

Protect your precious copies of CINEMAGIC, while keeping them on hand for easy reference in custom-cratted leatherette file cases or magazine binders embossed in gold with the CINEMAGIC logo. These handsome cases enable you to slip your copies of CINEMAGIC in-and-out individually, while the metal rod binders hold your copies of CINEMAGIC together, intact, like a large book, allowing you to leaf through issue after issue in chronological order. Each binder or case holds two year’s issues!

Library Cases: $5.95 each, 3 for $17.00°& 6 for $30.00 Postpaid.

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STATE Zip >

The white object in the center of this photo is a ball-and-cup nylon joint from a cheap shower head. The design gives free movement in any swivel direction without resorting to hinges or pins.

Here you can see how the counter weight at the base of the crutch (a video battery pack) is used to balance the vertical ‘‘crutch’’ pole. Springs add lift and make the camera ‘‘free-floating.”’

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JACK IMES, JR.

can see this plate just under the camera in the photos of the completed Cam-Glide device.

Also in the over-all-view photos you can see the counterweight used to balance the camera at the base of the vertical pole. For a video camera, the counterweight is the battery-pack used to power the camera and recorder. A film camera may require only a small weight such as a wooden block in the cross-piece holder.

Instead of going into mechanical details, I'll give you a brief idea of how the stabilizer works. The free-floating camera remains stable by a combination of the stabilizer’s shock-absorbing mechanical parts and the operator’s own hand-and- eye coordination. To see this clearly im- agine carrying a glass of water upa flight of stairs. You can easily keep the water level and unspilled as you climb the stairs. If your camera was as light as a glass of water you could make smoother moving shots. The stabilizer capitalizes on your hand-and-eye coordination by carrying the camera’s weight for you. All you have to do is guide the “weightless” camera with your hands. True, this takes some concentration on your part. This is why stabilizers such as the Steadicam® often require specially trained operators to make the movement shots. Since you can't look directly through the viewfinder, the operator must rely on a secondary viewfinder monitor. The Cam-Glide stabilizer uses the offset TV viewfinder of the video camera to compose the shot and follow the action. A film camera must be composed by simply pointing it at the action. The lack of seeing what you're shooting is awkward at first, but after a while you “know’ what is framed in the shot. The trick of managing the stabilizer is alot like rubbing your belly and tapping - you head at the same time.

I was surprised at how well the simple stabilizer performed from the very first. The thing isn’t hard to build or use, but takes a bit of practice to make really smooth movements. I've found that using a wide-angle lens setting helps keep a subject within the frame as he, she, or it moves around.

I’ve shot both film and video with the stabilizer over all kinds of rough terrain— including stairs—with little or no shake to the entire movement. In fact, a whole film can be made with one continuous move- ment from one action area to another. The stabilizer was used in this manner recently to make a rock video for a band in a large ballroom filled with all sorts of freaky people. I’m happy to say the Cam- Glide gave smooth dolly-like handheld films around the action, up and down stairs, with full rotation, pans and tilts.

| hope this overview article about my experience can urge you to build your own camera stabilizer for your films. It’s a great device for turning your films into real “motion” pictures. Ow

RECORDS!

(All records are 12” 33s rpm unless otherwise noted)

DR. WHO COLLECTOR’S EDITION

A Two-Record Set ]. “Genesis of the Daleks” 2. “Dr. Who Sound Effects” Plus: A 45 rom Bonus Record! “Dr. Who Theme” “Dr. Who & The Astronauts” : : A Giant Full-Color Poster! WHOIS THEDOCTOR? 7 Souvenir Photos! (7" 45 rpm) All for only $16.98 + postage $2.30 + postage .-

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$8.98 + postage SPACE INVADERS

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send cash, check or money order to: STARLOG PRESS

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DR. WHO COLLECTOR'S EDITION DR. WHO PICTURE DISC SCI-FI SOUND EFFECTS 0 $16.98 0 $10.98 2 $8.98 DR. WHO SOUND EFFECTS OUT OF THIS WORLD 2 Cassette OLP $8.98 DR. WHO THEME & 0 $8.98 THE ASTRONAUTS GENESIS OF THE DALEKS 0 $2.30 SPACE INVADERS 0 $8.98 0 $6.98 DR. WHO-“THE MUSIC” WHO IS THE DOCTOR? BLAKE'S 7 0 $8.98 0 $2.30 0 $2.30

Please include postage and handling: USA: $1.50 for Ist record CANADA: $2.02 for each record 1.00 for each additional record FOREIGN: $4.02 for each record

wa z > = rm

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Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. ES Bs BS Ge Ge ee Ss ee ee Ss ae 2 es ee es ee ss es ss ee Ss

CINEMAGIC #25 15

Maes cy a SS YY SY SS

GRIP AIT

KODAK 8mm VIDEO SYSTEM

Eastman Kodak Company has announced plans to extend its reach in imaging technology beyond film to the worldwide video market. Kodak will market an entirely new 8mm video camera-recorder (‘‘cam- corder’”’) system and more than 50 con- figurations of Kodak and Eastman brand video cassettes and tape for home enter- tainment and professional applications.

The products will be manufactured to Kodak specifications in Japan. TDK will supply the video tape and Matsushita the equipment. Both suppliers are widely known for the high quality of their products, and Kodak will certify that quality by in- specting these products at company facilities. The new 8mm format brings ‘ point-and-shoot convenience.

The one-piece Kodavision™ camcorders are highly portable. Current 2-inch two- piece systems usually require the user to shoulder a camera that’s wired to a separate recorder unit carried at waist level. The en- tire outfit may weigh ten pounds or more. But the smaller Kodak 8mm video cassette (only slightly larger than an audio tape cas- sette) yields considerable advantages. It makes it possible to design a five pound cordless model with point-and-shoot convenience.

The new Kodavision™ series 2000 video system includes two 8mm video camera- recorders: the Kodavision™ series 2000 camcorder / model 2200; and the auto- focus camcorder / model 2400. The cam- corders will accept 8mm Kodak video cassettes.

The system's visual and audio quality capability is extremely high. The system should yield televised images at least equal in quality to those recorded on 2-inch tape.

The camcorders weigh about 5 pounds each and are extremely easy to carry and use. They share several common features. These include a fast f/1.2, 6:1 power zoom lens, a ¥3-inch Newvicon tube and a fully automatic white balance that adjusts the

16 CINEMAGIC #25

The full line of Kodavision™ series 2000 video equipment offers consumers a wide range of capability with attractive options. The camcorders, model 2200 (left) and model 2400 (right), share several common features resulting in versatility and ease of use. Both fit neatly into the cradle (background, shown with op- tional tuner/timer) for easy storage and convenient playback. All cradle functions can be controlled by a remote control (foreground).

The Kodavision™ video system compact playback unit, the Kodavision ™series 2000 cradle, allows users

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to play back recorded tapes on an attached television set when the camcorder is placed within it. The cradle, capable of recharging the camcorder's batteries, is also designed to include an optional tuner/timer which allows users to record television broadcasts. All cradle functions can be controlled by a remote con-

trol, packaged with each cradle.

camera to shifts in color temperature. The cameras also feature a fast forward and fast reverse, a 5X visual search, and an elec- tronic viewfinder (actually a miniature black-and-white television screen). A review feature lets the user replay the last four seconds of the most recent recording. And the cameras incorporate an automatic iris for automatic exposure control.

Both camcorders accept cassettes of either MP (metal particle) tape or a higher grade ME (metal evaporated) tape. They can record for up to 90 minutes, and Kodak an- ticipates that advances in high-density tape technology will result in 8mm cassettes

with even longer playing times. Both tapes have the capability of recording digital and/or frequency-modulated (FM) sound.

The model 2200 features manual focus, two record/playback heads and still-frame capability.

The model 2400 features an autofocus lens (with manual over-ride), three heads, jitter-free still frame and frame advance capability, and a provision to “write” the date on the tape as it’s being recorded. It also includes push button fade-in/out con- trol and backlight control.

The Kodavision™ system's compact playback component, the Kodavision™

Battery-Operated Camcorder

KODAVISION SERIES 2000 VIDEO SYSTEM

Subject Viewed Through Viewer/T V

Playback Through TV or Record From TV With Tuner/Timer

series 2000 cradle / model 2020, allows users to play back recorded tapes when the camcorder is placed within it.

The cradle was developed by engineers and designers from Kodak and the manu- facturer. It is connected to the user’s tele- vision. To play a tape, the user inserts the camcorder into the cradle. The camera's motor drives the tape. Circuitry within the cradle converts the signals recorded on the tape for television display.

The camcorder's battery is recharged while the camera is in the cradle. The cradle can also recharge a separate battery to ex- tend the time the camcorder can be used.

Model 2400

Side View

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KODAVISION SERIES 2000 AUTO FOCUS CAMCORDER

The cradle is designed to include an op- tional Kodavision™ series 2000 tuner/timer model 2022, a device that allows users to record television broadcasts. The cradle is designed to be compatible with existing

Y2-inch VCR's to facilitate dubbing 8mm im-

ages onto -inch tape and vice versa. The cable-ready tuner/timer has 105-channel

capability and offers 12 preset channel posi-

tions. It can be programmed to tape up to two programs over any two-week period. With one-touch recording, it has the poten- tial for recording as long as 120 minutes. Most cradle functions can be controlled by Kodavision™ series 2000 remote control

KODAVISION SERIES 2000 VIDEO SYSTEM

model 2024, packaged with each cradle. List prices in the U.S. for the components appear below. e Kodavision™ series 2000 camcorder / model 2200 $1,599 e Kodavision™ series 2000 auto focus camcorder/ model 2400 $1,899 e Kodavision™ series 2000 cradle /

model 2020 $199 e Kodavision™ series 2000 tuner/timer / model 2022 $300

e Prices forthe 8mm MP and ME tapes will be announced later in the year. Kodavision™ products are scheduled to be shipped to dealers in the U.S. and Canada this summer.

CRADLE

Cassette Door

Viewfinder

| — L VIDEO CASSETTE / OX Su uO a ose —— Cover (Open) nq NON S | WI EB ‘ ae eit h POSITION OF CAMCORDER | | ee IN CRADLE KODAVISION crscorcen | | Lee JS|_ LS SERIES 2000 OSs*>= — =} Cradle

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

The operating controls for the Kodavision™ series 2000 auto-focus camcorder/model 2400, shown in the above diagram are: 1 - power zoom control. 2 - camera

record/pause button. 3 - record review button. 4 - date-select/counter switch. 5 - select/memory button. 6 - date set/counter reset button. 7 - daylight/tungsten select switch. 8 - fast forward/search control. 9 - play control. 10 - rewind/search control. 11 - record control. 12 - negative/positive switch. 13 - automatic focus select switch. 14 - fade-in/fade-out switch. 16 - back light button. 16 - manual white balance control. 17 - automatic white balance switch. 18 - pause/still control.

19 - standby/operate switch. 20 - single frame advance control. 21 - camera/playback/cradle switch. 22 - stop control. 23 - on/off power switch. 24 - eject control.

CINEMAGIC #25: 17

GRIP KIT.

—

COMPACT VIDEO CAMERA

The world’s lightest color video camera, weighting 1.6-pounds, was introduced recently by Konica Audio-Video Division of

-Konishiroku Photo Ind. U.S.A. Inc. at the Winter 1984 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. New Konica Model . CV-301 carries a suggested retail price of $795.00 and is available for immediate retail delivery. This extremely compact col- or video camera is compatible with all VHS format video cassette recorders. It is adap- table to Beta-format video cassette recorders with a standard adapter cable.

The new Konica CV-301 incorporates the most advanced state-of-the-art video | camera technology and features the new V2" S-M Cosvicon™ Pick-Up Tube, that vir- tually eliminates all streaking (“ghosts’’) in video playback reproduction. The unit delivers an impressive horizontal resolution of 270 lines plus; a minimum required luminance of 35 Lux; image signal-to-noise ratio of 45dB plus; video output signal of 1.0Vp-p/ohms; and an audio output level of -20dB (1K ohms).

“The market for a superior quality color video camera that is easy to use by the mass consumer market has been growing for some time,” commented Konica Audio- Video Division general manager Paul Miller. “Most of the color video cameras that are presently available are entirely too heavy and too complicated for the amateur

18 CINEMAGIC #25

video user to operate. We believe that the Konica CV-301 camera is exactly what this consumer has been waiting for.’ Konica ex- pects all segments of the consumer video camera market to enthusiastically support CV-301 because of its compact size and ultra-light weight.

Features of the new camera include a unidirectional electret condenser microphone, a f/1.5 manual 3 to 1 zoom lens with 10-30mm focal length, a through- the-lens optical viewfinder with in-finder LED to indicate recording low-light and power warnings. It also features a light balance control to match four separate col- or temperatures. The camera measures 2.6’ W x 8.9” Hx 4.8” D and weights 1.6 pounds (including five feet of 1.5m cable). Available options include a soft carrying case, a teleconverter lens to increase focal length by 1.4 times and an electronic viewfinder to provide playback monitor in the field.

TESTRITE CINELARGER

The Cinelarger, manufactured by the Testrite Instrument Company of Newark, New Jersey, is an unusual photographic product that is tailor-made for making frame blow-ups from movie film. It is perfect for obtaining publicity shots from original movie camera footage and can bea real boon to filmmakers who have ne- glected to shoot publicity photos during a production.

The Cinelarger makes negatives from either black and white or color movies onto either black and white or color film. The Cinelarger uses *120 size roll film which, after exposure, is developed and printed in the usual manner. The Cinelarger is available in Super-8, Standard-8 mm, 16mm and 35mm models. A different model is required for each different format. There is also a Fuji 8mm model available.

Sixteen contact prints, 15% inches x 2/4. in-

ches in size, are made from one roll of #120 film with the 8mm model, and eight contact prints 2% inches x 2% inches are obtained

with the 16mm, Super-8, 35mm or Fuji 8mm models. Normally good negatives will yield further enlargements up to 8 x 10 in- ches. Cutting or splicing the movie is unnecessary.

The Cinelarger is available from the Superior Bulk Film Company, Inc., 442-450 North Wells St., Chicago, IL 60610. The cost is $32. Write for Superior’s catalog, which lists many useful accessories for filmmakers.

Bonum Reels

Small Format Audio-Visual, Inc. an- nounces that they have recently become a distributor of Bonum Super-8 Reels.

Manufactured in Austria, the Bonum Reel is made of sturdy plastic and comes packaged complete with its own display case, which locks tightly closed and is designed so that multiple cases can be easi- ly interlocked and stacked.

Designed in an attractive gray and burgandy combination, these Bonum reels are available in 200’, 400’, 600’, and 800’ sizes.

For additional information contact Small Format Audio-Visual, Inc., 95 Harvey Street, Cambridge, MA 02140 (617) 876-5876.

GOKO 400 SERIES EDITOR-VIEWERS

Virtually all of the features you've been looking for in an editor can be found in the Goko 400 Series Editor-Viewers. The in- novative NF-System (non-flicker) optical glass prism blends picture into picture without flicker or blackout—bringing a new pleasure in viewing (Super-8 models only).

NF-4004 S-8. The most sophisticated model in the series. The NF-System eliminates blackouts at any speed. Automatic take-up with variable speed from about 5 fps to 40 fps, plus manual operation. Super-8/Single-8 only, sound or silent.

NF-400 S-8. A quality editor with NF- system that eliminates flicker and blackout at any speed. The picture is visible at all times. For Super-8/Single-8 only, sound or silent. (For Regular-8, see GM-4004 D-8.)

GM-4004 D-8. A dual model for use with Super-8/Single-8 and Regular-8 formats, sound or silent. Automatic take-up plus manual operation are featured in this model. Variable speed from about 5 fps to 40 fps.

Specifications: Screen size—5-inch x 32-inch color-corrected fresnel screen; magnification—22.5 times; reel capacity— 800 feet; rewind—1:2.5 geared rewind; take- up—1:0.75 under-geared.

The Goko 400 Series Editor-Viewers are available from Riley Marketing, Inc., 11245 Goodnight, Suite 15, P.O. Box 29898, Dallas, TX-0898. Phone: (214) 247-8899. Contact Riley Marketing for prices .

a — eee

Small Format Audio-Visual, Inc. in- troduces the newest addition in their line of professional location crystal sync cassette

_ machines, The LXR-6. _

| Equipped with dolby sound and a built-in 50 or 60 Hz crystal quartz oscillator, the _LXR-6 is the smallest, least obtrusive sync

_ machine available, weighing a mere 1 Ib. 7

| oz. and measuring 7.25 x 1.60 x 3.75 inches. | A modified Sony WMD-6, the LXR-6 can

| record in crystal sync with any Super-8, 16mm or 35mm camera equipped with a

-| crystal control. The unit also accepts a stan- | dard pilotone cable signal, making it com-

patible with any 16mm or 35mm camera which puts out a pilotone signal, or any

LXR-6, NEW CRYSTAL-SYNC CASSETTE

Super-8 camera when used in conjunction with a pulse converter.

In sync use, The LXR-6 is monophonic with sync on the right channel. It is precise to plus (+) or minus (—) one frame in thir- teen (1 in 13) minutes in the crystal syne mode. In the pilotone mode when the cable is plugged into the right channel, the crystal-generated pilotone is automatically switched off. The sync level is adjustable to accept input voltages of .4v to 4v ms.

Back in your home or studio, the cassette can be resolved to fullcoat for perfect lip- synchronous editing with your film. For the Super-8 gauge, the cassette can be transfer- red directly onto Super-8 mag via any

Super-8 Sound Recorder I, Il or MAG IV without the aid of an external resolving unit, as the fullcoat recorders are equipped with built-in resolving capabilities. To resolve to 16mm or 35mm fullcoat, the DF- IV Resolver is needed for the purpose of comparing the sync signal recorded on the cassette to a common reference signal (the AC line, 60 Hz). Using this comparison, the resolver delivers a servo-electronic speed control to the recorder, which will adjust the playback speed precisely to the speed at which the original sync signal was recorded. For more information, contact Small For- mat Audio-Visual, Inc. at 95 Harvey St., Cambridge, MA 02140 (617) 876-5876. (#

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CINEMAGIC #25 19

Fantasic Fantasy Armor

Create a fantasy world of medieval knights and kingdoms with this cheap and easy method of

armor forging. By RON MILLER

ave you ever needed a suit of ar- mor for a fantasy or period piece film and been unable to find a suitable suit? You can easily make your own ona shoestring budget to custom fit your actor.

Many newspapers and large print shops discard, or sell for a few cents; used aluminum offset printing plates. They can be up to 2 x3 feet and are thin enough to be easily cut with ordinary scissors. We needed some body armor for portions of our Super-8 film, The Weapon, and these used offset plates proved ideal. Paper pat- terns were first cut out and fitted, held together with staples and tape. When the paper version finally fit properly and looked as we intended, it was taken apart.

These templates were laid on the: aluminum sheets and traced with a magic marker. Be careful that the side of the sheet with the printed image goes on the inside of the armor. The shapes were then

PHOTOS: RON MILLER

Above and below: Judith Miller poses with fantasy armor made by the method described in this article.

cut out with scissors. The edges (which can be quite sharp) were filed smooth.

If the proper crimping tools are available, a “hem” can be made by folding over the edges, giving a more realistic ap- pearance. Clean both sides with any household cleaner. Fine steel wool quick- ly puts a polish on the pieces.

We assembled the armor with a pop- rivet tool (available at any hardware store for under $12)—which also looks very realistic. For parts that needed to flex, we used 2-inch filament strapping tape on the back. Soft cotton or felt is glued onto the inside to make the armor both safe and comfortable to wear.

A suit of mail will complement your ar- mor and adda touch of authenticity. You can make a realistic suit of mail with macrame, spray-painted silver. With a lit- tle imagination and effort, you can create very realistic looking armor for your fan- tasy epic. Good filming! COW

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CINEMAGIC #25 21

EFFECTS A Touch of Color

Add a touch of color to your film fantasy world and bring your epics to life with this final addition to the do-it-yourself Easy Effects filter kit.

By JACK IMES, JR. ow many times has this hap- , pened to you: a scene looks great in the camera viewfinder, but on the screen the shot falls flat? If your shot lacks emotional impact, you might want to reshoot it with a color filter over the camera lens. A color filter can alter the natural colors of the scene. It can adda dramatic new mood to an otherwise or- dinary setting. This article will show you how to make several types of color effects filters. These filters, and the star, fog, and | diffusion filters described in previous issues of CINEMAGIC, complete your E-Z Effects Filter Pack. Before you make the color filters you must first make the paper holder and filter lens mount. These two items are us- ed to attach the filter to your camera lens. They have been described in detail in previous issues. However, new readers can 5 refer to the following for a brief explanation. A B FIGURE 1

THE FILTER HOLDER

Step 1: Purchase an Ambico Adapter Ring matched to your camera lens size (filter thread size). This ring can be pur- chased at most camera stores for about $2.50. See Figure 1.

Step 2: Trace the ring onto an index card. Trace both the inner and outer edges

ordinary paperclips (P) as seen in Figure 3B.

-SINGLE-COLOR FILTER

The easiest color filter is simply a sheet of dyed acetate. This acetate is easily found in office supply stores or art stores in the form of sheet protectors, report covers, or color. transparencies for FIGURE 2 overhead projectors. Lighting supply

22 CINEMAGIC#25

_ of the ring. See Figures 2A & 2B. Cut out

the finished tracing as in Figure 2C. Fold the cut tracing in half to make the filter holder seen in Figure 2D.

Step 3: When the filter is completed > (see rest of this article) the paper filter

holder will mate to the Ambico ring. This

ring screws directly onto the camera lens as shown in Figure 3A. The paper filter A B, holder is then easily anchored with two

COO C)

= Sa

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 4 A

stores may also sell acetate or color gels of the type used on stage lights. Buy several sheets in a range of colors. Red and yellow are strong emotional colors, often termed “hot” colors, to create a mood of excitement or energy. Blue, green, and deep purple are ‘cool’ colors. They tone downa shot's color range. Cool colors can add a somber or even dream- like mood to the shot.

The basic single-color-filter is made out of a4 x 4 inch color acetate sheet. The sheet is inserted into a finished paper holder and the excess acetate is trimmed as seen in Figure 4A and 4B. Short pieces of tape folded over the holder ends will keep the acetate in place as shown in Figure 4C. Don’t touch the exposed sur- face of the acetate with your fingers. Fingerprints, oil, dirt and scratches ruin the optical clarity of the soft plastic. The finished filter should be stored ina letter envelope when not being used. The filters color can be written on the envelope for easy identification.

THE 2-COLOR FILTER

A single-color filter overlays one strong

color over the entire frame image. However, in some shots, you may want to have more control over what portion of the scene is colorized. For example you may want to change a long shot so that the sky is green and the ground is blood red. To achieve this effect you need to use a special filter that contains two separate colors, called a 2-color filter. This filter is also known as a duo-color filter, dual col- or filter, or a split-field color filter.

The 2-color filter is made by simply in- serting two separate strips of color acetate in the paper filter frame. As before, tape is used to hold the strips in place. The exact placement of the strips is a matter of your needs in a particular shot. In a landscape shot, for example, the sky and groundare differently colored or even intensified by using. deeper colors similar to those of the natural setting. The boundary line between the two colors may sometimes show at small lens aper- tures, but this division can be masked by placing the boundary line along the scene's horizon. A more subtle coloring of a scene can be had by using a wide separation of the filter strips so only the

edges of the image frame is affected by the colors. Examples of 2 strip ar- rangements are shown in Figure 5A (horizon-type) and 5B (edge-type).

THE 3-COLOR FILTER

The 3-color filter, shown in figure 6A, is simply a color filter with 3 different acetate strips in parallel. This filter is also known as a tri-color filter. As in a 2-color filter, it allows you to individually alter the colors im different areas of the shot. For example, with the filter you can colorize the sky, far background, and foreground in separate colors. A variation of this filter is shown in Fig. 6B. This filter uses pie- wedges of acetate instead of the usual parallel arrangement.

THE COLOR SPOT FILTER

You may want to add color only to the edges of a shot, or surround your main character ina swirl of color. For this effect a color spot filter can be used. It produces a distinct shot with a clear (colorless) center fringed with color.

To make a color spot filter simply cut a small round or square hole in the center

CINEMAGIC #25 23

of the single-color filter. The hole is to let light pass uncolored by the filter and should be about the size of a dime. This hole permits your filmed subject to be “spotlighted” by the surrounding color of the filter. You can make several filters with different size holes to give a range of “spotlight” effects. The holes can also be shaped to form ovals, stars, or rectangles. Figure 7A shows a spot filter, Figure 7B the effect on a subject.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The use of a color filter usually requires some exposure compensation. Dark acetate, such as intense red, blue or green, strongly reduces the amount of light reaching the film emulsion. For these colors the lens iris should be open- ed up 1 to 4stops(or more) to assure that filter footage will match the unfiltered ex- posure level. The exact compensation must be determined by shooting test film and marking the filter with the correct number of stops to be opened up over the meter reading. This number is called the filter factor, and it is different for different filters. Cameras with auto-exposure meters (through-the-lens type only) will automatically compensate for the filter factor.

Color filters can also cause a marked change in the contrast of the scene. This is most obvious in deep red, blue, green and purple filters. Shadows will darken and lose detail. A filter may only permit the brightest areas of the scene (called highlights) to be exposed. With deep blue filters the effect is similar to moonlight on the scene, and is called a day for night shot.

Two and 3-color and spot filters usual- ly require the camera to be stationary. Any tilt or pan movements will shift the scene’s subject but not the color overlays and thus destroy the intended mood ef- fect. Care must also be taken to compose the scene so that a single subject doesn't cross over two or more color areas and reveal the use of the filter.

Color filters can be fun and give youa chance to play dramatic tricks on your au- dience. Colors are part of any film's " overall planning and should be carefully used. However, don’t overdo color effects by endless repetition in a single film. In- stead, use color filter effects to add visual magic where you need it most. OW

MATERIALS Dyed acetate, various colors, 4 X 4inches Index cards, 5 X 8 inches Ambico (brand name) adapter ring, size to fit camera lens Two paper clips

Adhesive tape Tools: scissors, pencil, art knife, ruler Note: If you have made the previous CINEMAGIC E-Z Effects Filters you need not purchase anything except the acetate sheets.

24 CINEMAGIC #25

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 6

FIGURE 7

RES

ART: JACK IMES, JR.

WORLDS OF. IMAGINATION

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production or near completion to CINEMAGIC, c/o O’Quinn Studios, Inc., 475 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. Please include a photograph of some phase of the production if possible.

Fee

Perea po

Invasion of the Plastic Wrappers. “Since the birth of plastic wrap people have abused us. Now it is time to strike back...’ From the grocery stores they came. The box is opened. The terror unfolds. Producer/Director: John Lawrence. Camera operators: Alan Cusolito, Ted Sturr, Robert Sturr. Lighting: Alan Cusolito and John Lawrence. Script: John Lawrence and Laura Milligan. Cast: John Lawrence, Laura Milligan, Clark Hawley, Eric Miller and Cathie Palmer. A Prism Films production. Super-8, color, two-track sound. Running time: 15 minutes. (Prism Films, clo John Lawrence, 5808 Washington Ave., Whittier, CA 90601.)

Point ov U. (tentative title.) Richard is a telepath, anda little bit more. But he doesn’t know it. All that he knows is that he can “hear” everything that crosses other peoples minds—what they think about him, about others, about the world. It’s driving him crazy. Then one evening, while at a shopping mall, Richard is contacted by another tele- path! He wants to help Richard, to train him to control his powers; but he also wants something from Richard...

- Producers/Directors: Roger Spendlove and Doug Shuler. Writer: Roger Spendlove. All other positions uncast at this time. In pre-production. Video (VHS), color, sound. Run- ning time: approximately 20 to 30 minutes. (Pegasi Pro- ductions/GMHS TV Productions, c/o Roger Spendlove, 1614 S. Urban Way, Lakewood, CO 80228.) Please contact me if you can help in any way.

A Night to Remember. An epic horror story that can't easily be forgotten! Producer: MPR Productions. Direc- tor/Writer: Peter DiPietrantonio. Special Makeup FX: Bob DiPietrantonio. Original Musical Soundtrack: Mark DiPietrantonio. FX include: a great cliff-hanging sword battle, neat chase scenes, spectacularly staged transfor- mations and decapitations, a cellar full of rotting corpses, lots more stunts and explosive action—all with a comic twist. Super-8, color, sound. Running time: 45 minutes. (MPR Productions, ch Bob DiPietrantonio, 66 James St., Saco, ME 04072.)

26 CINEMAGIC #25

A Spot in the Sun. A future-present comedy. Producer: Gettys Films. Director: Don Gettys, Michael Gettys and Maureen Whitmer. FX include: lighting effects, miniatures and filter effects. Shot on location in Chicago, Illinois. Super-8, color, sound. Transferred to VHS video cassette. (Gettys Films, c/o Don Gettys, 515 Lockport St., Plainfield, IL 60544.)

Starflight: Rendevous With Doom A science fiction thriller set in the year 2595. The crew of the starship Starflight has a mission: seek and destroy an enemy alien who plots an awesome plan of total destruction of the in- habitants of Earth! Producer/Director/Writer/FX: Mike Rogers. Cast: Mike Rogers, Mike Beaudoin, Jodi Beaudoin and the monster. FX include: mattes, glass shots, laser ef- fects, stop-motion animation, miniature spacecraft, star- ships flying through hyper space. (Roger Films, Ltd., c/o Mike Rogers, Larkin Rd., Hubbardsville, NY 13355.)

The Mason County Massacre. Not as gory as it sounds (sorry gore fans) because suggestion slayings are used, although there is some graphic violence. Abused by his mother, little Johnny goes mad and kills her. He is locked away in an asylum, but is released nine years later. He ven- tures back to his home town only to find the sheriff and his deputies very unhospitable. He hunts the deputies, who had beat him half to death, and the snobby young talk-of- the-town who got him into trouble in the first place. Sur- prise ending. Producer: J.S.B. Films. Writer/Direc- tor/Cameraman: Sean Burnley. Cast: Douglas Busby, Rhonda Chidester, Winston Massey, Kenneth Crowson, Grady Busby, Mary Eifling and Ronnie Adams. FX include: pitchfork stabbing, knife stabbing, piece of glass in eye, and a nightstick forced down a victim’s windpipe. Super-8, color, separate sound on cassette. Running time: 6-8 minutes. (J.S.B. Films, c/o Sean Burnley, 649 McAllister, Greenville, MS 38701.)

Wine and Rosez. The first film in the four-film “Wine and Rosez” series. Parodies of various horror, science fiction, and just plain life movies. Comedy. Written, Produced and Directed by Pat Collins and Peri Cope. FX include: miniatures, mechanical effects, and optical effects. Super-8, color, silent. Running time: 15 minutes. (PC/PC, Productions, c/o Pat Collins, 337 Greenwood Dr., Brigham City, UT 84302.)

The Book. Science-fiction drama. An alien civilization wishes to make peaceful contact with planet Earth. The aliens send a group of explorers on a secret scouting mis- sion to get an indication of how they should behave toward humans, so as not to cause any alarm. They find a book, bring it back to their planet and, leading an enormous fleet of heavily armed spaceships, they come back to Earth. They duplicate the book’s teachings, believing it’s the ap- propriate way to act toward humans—but the book is a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kamf! Producer: DNA Produc: tions. Director/Writer/Editor/Cinematographer/SPFX Supervisor: Romain Alarie. Cast: Michael Barbeau, Luc Bassette, Daniel “The Truck” Gagnon and tons of extras! FX include: finely detailed miniature spaceships and land- scapes, matte paintings, front projection effects, miniature and full-scale explosions, latex makeup and bladder ef- fects, elaborate spaceship sets, underwater photography and stunts. Super-8, color, wide-screen, dolby stereo soundtrack. Running time: Approximately 45 minutes. In pre-production. (DNA Productions, c/o Romain Alarie, 7840 Henri-Beland, Monteal, Quebec, Canada H4K-1A2.)

Second Door to the Left. While at a party, Martin Perry mysteriously receives a death note. To avoid the unknown killer, Martin hides in the bathroom during the rest of the night, but soon finds that the murderer’s intentions are just the opposite of what he suspected. Cast: Harold Cady and Karl Grokowsky. Writer/Director/Producer/Film Editor/Sound/Director of Cinematography: Karl Grokowsky. Camera operator: Jay Grokowsky. Super-8, color, sound. Running time: 6-7 minutes. (Grokowsky Pro-

Lend Me A Hand. A mad doctor is interrupted while butchering a body by two policemen who try to arrest him. He cuts the first policeman’s throat and dips the second policeman’s face in acid, but during the battle he loses the use of his left hand. He must replace the hand to continue his work. He finds a suitable victim, takes the hand and disposes of the body. Complications occur when the doc- tor starts hallucinating, and he finds that his new hand has a life of its own. Producer/Director/Writer/Makeup: George V. Higham. Cast: George V. Higham, Louis Hernandez, John Smith and Frank Pittorese. Special thanks to: Timothy DeMarco, Fady Hayeck, Mike Hernandez and Ed- die Burns. Super-8, color, silent. Running time: 12

ductions, c/o Karl Grokowsky, 1747 Rose St., Lot 43, La

minutes. (Sic Flics, co George Higham, 643 19th St., Crosse, WI 54601.)

Brooklyn, NY 11218.) On

Super 8 Sound v ieee gs eae = 2

pluses that film has over tape for original — production, lets just say that for us’ and thousands like us there is enough depth in what we do that being able to see it 5 seconds later is not important, and we respect our audiences enough not to bore them with 2 hours of anything shot on one continuous take. So for those who choose to be filmmakers, we offer our services aS equipment suppliers. We carry the most complete line of supe 8 equipment available in the world today. From flatbeds to splicers, from film to the most sophisticated Super 8 cameras made, you will find them at Super8 Sound. Ultra wide angle lenses, matte boxes, underwater housings, single or double system for beginners or professionals, you will find it at Super8 Sound. From the latest in projection illumination to old stand-bys such as leader and gaffers tape, the Wurker splicer, Bonum reels and cans; now you know where to go. Super8 Sound. Familiar names such as Nizo, Goko, Beaulieu, Bogen, Canon, Elmo and Chinon to name a few; books on film, magazines on filmmaking, information on film festivals, or special products such as optical printers and film strippers; youll find out about them all at Super8 Sound. So write for a FREE price list, send $3.00 for a full info Meme Pack, or drop by our showroom. Get in touch with us so we can keep you

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CINEMAGIC #25 27

Electronic

SPECIAL FX

A Framework for Fantastic Filming

Build this digital frame counter to aid in your animation and special effects filming.

The completed frame counter mounted in a project box. The project box shown may no longer be available of your frame counter to fix another box. You may want to

‘§Pou've probably been wondering YY you haven't seen any projects in the last few issues. As you know,

I've been using Radio Shack parts in most of the articles. Due to arecent cutback in the latest Radio Shack catalog, the parts for this project are not available in their entirety from Radio Shack. When this project was planned, the parts were available, but since then some of them have been dropped from Radio Shack’s inventory. As a result, I’ve been looking

28 CINEMAGIC#25

By CHRIS E. STEVENS

for other suppliers of the parts that Radic Shack no longer carries, but will continue to use Radio Shack catalog numbers for the items that they still carry. For the time being, you may try local parts distri- butors, mail order houses and the like for some of the parts we'll be using.

About the project: This is a digital frame counter for cameras with a shutter output connection. It will count either up or down, and you may pre-set numbers and load them into the unit, which will

from Radio Shack, so you may have to modify the mounting ' use seven-strand cables to connect board ‘‘A’’ to board “‘B’’ to facilitate mounting.

display them and start the count from there. In addition, an alarm will sound every ten frames if so desired, by selec- ting the on/off function of SW 11. The con- necting jack on the back of the unit will allow for extension outputs so that you may trigger other devices which trigger on anegative going pulse only. If you will notice, the strobe unit that was described in issue #20 is also a negative-going pulse unit, and can be controlled from one of the frame counter’s outputs.

SWE 9-4 0

aun °

> smn © oe!

° ttl @ umn: ° at) C3 \o4/

The PC board layout for the frame counter project. The top of board ‘‘B’’ and board ‘‘A’’ are shown. Board ‘‘A’’ is a double-sided board (there is circuitry on both sides), and the other side is shown on the following page. Dotted lines indicate jumpers. For small dots (°), drill on center on both sides.

This frame counter is easy to operate and isn’t as complicated as it looks. The trigger pulse is fed into the connector in the back of the unit, which switches tran- sistor Q-1 and sends pulses into IC-1. In addition, IC-1 is also the upddown select for the counter and for the lowest order digit IC-5. The 74LS192 IC is capable of being cascaded for a higher count capability, and is able to add or subtract as the lower digit passes through “O” in either direc- tion. The unit consists of four indepen- dent digital counters, connected in this cascading fashion. ICs 2,3,4 and 13 are used to sense the ‘carry’, ‘borrow’ mode of the LS 192’s. When the unit needs to

add or subtract, it triggers through these ICs, forming an “and” gate which turns on transistor Q-2, sounding the alarm buzzer, PB-1.

C3, C5 and C-6 are .1 uf disc ceramic capacitors, and are used along with C-2 to prevent switching spikes from falsely trig- gering a count. ICs 9 through 12 are seven-segment decoderdMrivers for the LED displays, and if you'll notice on the layout, the IC’s outputs are through 330 ohm resistors to limit the current level to each segment. The solder pads at the top of board ‘“‘A” connect directly to the row of solder pads on board “B”. These connec- tions can either be connected directly, or

attached by using a seven-strand cable. At the time that this project was designed, the project box was still available from Radio Shack, and | decided to use the direct approach. Since you might have to modify your mounting of the unit to fit another box, you might want to consider the cables instead.

Board “A” is a double-sided board. This means that there is circuitry on both sides. All of the jumper leads are in- dicated by dotted lines. The pads and holes to be drilled are indicated by the ad- dition of asmall black dot close to the pad to be drilled. Also, for C3, C5, and 6, there are little lines cutting through certain

CINEMAGIC #25 29

pads. These lines indicate the connec- GATE] ALARM CIRCUITRY tions for those parts. On ICs 5-8, the +: jumpers are a five-wire pair, which con- nect to the switches 2, 4, 6, 8 for the pre- sets. In addition, the center wire from either side of the cable goes to switches 3, 5, 7, 9 for the reset/load functions. Notice the solder pads on!Cs 5-8. Pin *1 goes to switch pos. #2; Pin #9 goes to pos. #4: Pin #10 goes to pos. *3; Pin *15 goes to pos. #1. Pin 11 connects to one side of the pushbutton switch, and the other side connects to the B minus side as indicated by the dotted lines. SWI When drilling board “B”, drill all of the ALARM holes for the switches and LED displays,

7 1C:2 IC 3 IC 4 IC 13 LM7400

ART: CHRIS E. STEVENS

ON OPPOSITE SIDE, DRILL ONLY THE HOLES FOR THE DISPLAYS; SWITCHES.

ALIGN AND DRILL THIS SIDE FIRST.

USE DRILLED HOLES AS GUIDES ON OPPOSITE SIDE.

DRILL ALL SOLDER PADS.

30 CINEMAGIC #25

The schematic for the frame counter’s power supply.

PHOTOS: CHRIS E. STEVENS

10 W 6 13 R3-30

6 C 2lesi2 2

// Bt 10

9 [5

YXWNUNMOOOns P

TO COMMON ANODE LED DISPLAY Li-4 "BORROW TO NEXT DOWN” 74LS/92 ‘CARRY TO NEXT “UP” 74LS/92 TO GATES “UP” TO GATES “DOWN”

% i * ¥ ¥s3 , : z

Interior of frame counter shows wiring to digital counters. The schematic for the frame counter’s main circuit.

but not the bottom row of the solder pads. If you have any covering left over from the strobe project, you might want to give the

PARTS LiIsT

faceplate a cosmetic lift. Above all else, | SW4, 10, 11 SPST mini toggle 275-624 plan ahead so that you don’t make | SW2,4,6,8 4 Position mini dip 275-1304 mistakes. If you have a copy of the SW3,5,7,9 SPST N.O. Pushbutton (red) 275-1547 Engineering Handbook, Vol. 2, you can a cule a 13 look up the various parts and getabetter | _” a7 VAG PrLI6S Seo ae understanding of how this project works. a Dtb Ones Bk 272-1020 An intervalometer isin the works for a | yr 5 volt regulator IC 276-1770 future project, and it will match up with | @4 PNP transistor 276-1604 the frame counter andthe strobe. Also,be | @2 D613 transistor* on the lookout fora little gizmo that will | Line cord AC line cord 278-1255 add a sufficient delay for those of you | C3-5,-6 1 uf disc ceramic 272-135 whose movie cameras will not syne with | Jack-1 Quad phono jack 274-322 the strobe, as this problem has been | !€1,2,3,4,13 LM7400 IC 276-1801 brought to my attention. ow | 105,6,7,8 7ALS192 1C9,10,11,12 74LS47 R3-31 330 ohm ¥% watt resistors 271-1315 R1-32 2.2 K-ohm % watt resistor 271-027 a PBI Piezo buzzer 273-060 Let’s Hear From You! L1-4 Common anode LED display 276-053

If you have any comments or sugges- tions on, or for future articles, please don't hesitate to write. If you wish a reply, send a S.A.S.E. Send to: Chris Stevens, 1021/2 N. Indiana, Crown Point, IN 46307.

Where available, Radio Shack catalog numbers are listed in italic for your convenience. Misc: PC board, etchant, wire hardware, etc. * Items with an asterisk (*) are also available by making a certified check or money order to: Chris E. Stevens. Send to: Chris E. Stevens, 10212 N. Indiana, Crown Point, IN 46307. Prices available upon request.

CINEMAGIC #25 31

Shooting

om af

What’s missing in this picture? A publicity photograp

By John Dods

. ae ty

a ssnsnremmmnnnstansaannsssascercocensnienercies erent, 4

her! A least one person in this photo could be taking

photos! This is a behind-the-scene shot from Imagine, which features John Dod’s creature, ‘Grog’.

aybe I’m unlucky. A_back- ground in studio and candid photography had made me a prime target for the necessary and impor- tant, but typically nerve-frazzling and dif- ficult job of shooting publicity stills fora _ film production. | have functioned as a publicity photographer on film projects of varying descriptions—both amateur and professional—on my own films and on other people’s. It’s a job that must be done to insure the proper promotion of any film. But whether it’s a Super-8 back- yard production or a35mm pro flick it's always the same: when you're a pubilici- ty photographer nobody wants you to do your job.

Ill-tempered directors order you off the set or pace impatiently as youtry to hold focus on the few quick shots you may be allowed to snap in between takes. The producer asks if the publicity shots real- ly can't be taken at another time and place and you seem to be in the way of every technician on the set (I have learn- ed that the best way to get along witha film crew is to take their pictures). What's

32 CINEMAGIC #25

more, the sound man will always be in the exact spot you need to stand in order to get the best shots. So, | have been brought to an inescapable conclusion: a film set is no place to photograph a movie.

How and where can the vitally impor- tant job of producing publicity stills take place? Ideally away from the high inten- sity pressures of a film in production— someplace where time for careful lighting and posing is possible. When? On weekends, between shoots, or even after the completion of the production. But harsh reality may prevail and the publicity photographer will sometimes have to shoot on the set. Then he must make the best of bad circumstances, be brave, and prepare for the worst.

ON THE SET

On apro flick time is money. Even on an amateur production time is often a scarce commodity. The fast moving publicity photographer gets the pictures. It’s not usually possible to shoot while the cameras are rolling because the sound of

Publicity Stills

a camera shutter will be picked up by the microphones. Exceptions are if it’s an “MOS” shot or if the camera is “blimped” (soundproofed.) A pre-arrangement with the producer and director may allowthe photographer to grab a few quick shots between takes. People on a film set are there to make a movie and may have lit- tle patience with a photographer who can’t quickly set the exposure, frame, focus, snap two or three pictures, and beat it.

The set of Maniac was typical. Circum- stances had me on location one day dur- ing the shoot of this moderately-bud- geted horror flick. The atmosphere was thick with tension. That “time is money” feeling was in the air. Everyone was mov- ing fast. Everyone had a job. Makeup ar- tist Tom Savini was rigging an actress with the tubes that would control the “blood” flow from a knife wound in her stomach. It was a good day to be there— this was to be an important effects shot. The actress had only one spare dress, so no more than two takes would be possi- ble (the blood from the tubes rendered the costumes unusable after one shot).

The director said it was OK for the “photographer from CINEMAGIC” to snap a few quick pictures before the cameras rolled, so | went to work. It bothered me to notice that everyone seemed to have finished what they were doing and were-now watching me. The director and several crew members look- ed on with apparent interest. Then the light meter in my camera wouldn't work. It had happened before. | only had one camera with me. | knew from years of shooting with Tri-X film that it would be

fairly safe to shoot wide open at 1/1 25 se-.

cond. But | wanted to be sure. Trying to move quickly, | fumbled for my hand- held meter and confirmed my guess.

Actor Joe Spinell and the actress play- ing his victim patiently waited for me to tell them what they were supposed to do. | asked them to assume the pose they would hold during the upcoming take with Spinell’s arm around the actress's neck. | looked at them through the camera and saw that it was not a good shot—they were posing like manne- quins. Under the duress of the ticking clock and knowing that! would soon wear out my welcome on the set, | became bold. I said, “Could you put more feeling into it please?” Then their faces came to life—suddenly it looked very real. “Just a little more intense please!” | said and three clicks later! was finished and thank- ing everyone. “Thank you,” said Joe Spinell. Believe me, a publicity photographer doesnt usually get thanked back.

COLOR OR NOT

Shoot color when there is color. The color separations needed by magazine editors to reproduce color shots are ex- pensive. Editors aren't going to spend their limited budget money on drab, dull, or grey “color” shots. They may repro- duce a drab color shot if it’s an interesting subject but they will probably run it in black-and-white.

A color shot can be run in black-and- white but a black-and-white can never be run in color. So why shoot black and white at all? Because the quality is better ona B&W original than on a B&W dupe of a color original, and also because it takes time and money to convert a color shot into a BGW one (it has to be rephoto- graphed onto B&W film, processed, and printed).

Editors and publishers usually prefer color shots to be in the form of trans- parencies (slides) rather than prints because transparencies reproduce better.

The pros prepare lots of color material for release by making multiple duplicates of the best Ektachrome originals onto Ektachrome duplicating film. I've heard of another method—slightly offbeat— which consists of the still photographer loading his cameras with the same 35mm stock being used by the film’s cinemato- grapher. He sends his film in for proces- sing together with the dailies and gets

them back the next day.

FRAME BLOWUPS

Another way to produce production stills is to re-photograph individual frames of the original movie footage either onto black-and-white stock (for enlargement) or onto 35mm transparen- cy film. For footage involving special ef- fects that were added optically, this method may be the only way to produce stills. The “Cinelarger’’ is a device made for the purpose of photographing film frames. It is available for each of the 8, Super-8, 16mm, and 35mm formats. It currently sells for $32.00 and is available from Superior Bulk Film Company Incor- porated, 442 N. Wells, Chicago, Illinois 60610. The Cinelarger is not used in con- junction with a camera—it is a camera. [See the Grip Kit section in this issue.]

“Paper negatives” can also be used to produce frame blowups. In this process, a strip of frames is placed in the negative carrier of a darkroom enlarger. These are projected down onto the easel and a print is made in the usual way. This will result

in a print having a negative image. After

the paper negative has been fixed, washed and dried normally a positive print can be made. The paper negative is not placed in the negative carrier but rather is contact printed (held flat by glass) against another sheet of print paper. This sandwich is exposed to the light of the enlarger and then processed as usual. This will result in a positive im- age of the original frame(s). The paper

negative must be made in the exact size that you want the final print to be.

Of course, if the movie camera original is on negative stock, a paper inter- negative isn’t necessary if the publicity photographer has access to the camera original, as would be the case on most amateur productions but few pro films. In this case the original camera negative could be placed in the enlarger and printed normally, yielding positive BGW prints. Kodak Panalure™ paper, which is designed to yield normal black-and-white tones from color negatives, should be used in this case.

An advantage of this method over us- ing paper internegatives is the superior quality of the print compared to one made with a paper internegative, and you can size your print any number of ways from the same original camera negatives.

Out-takes which were properly lit and photographed, but which wound up on

the cutting room floor for acting mistakes or other reasons, are ideal for this purpose because it isn't a good idea to risk damag- ing the original camera negative for the sake of making publicity stills.

CONTROLLED SETTINGS

If the situation allows the publicity photographer to do his work away from the lunacy of an active film set, his life will be easier and—perhaps—his pictures better. The more relaxed atmosphere of a photo studio allows for the possibility of complicated lighting setups, formal cast portraits, more time generally to experi- ment, and the use of larger (slower) for- mat cameras.

A good basic lighting set-up does not have to cost a lot of money. Most photo- graphers’ lights are very expensive but what you're paying for are the fixtures and the long-life high-wattage bulbs. You don't need this costly equipment to take good

The best publicity photo is one that depicts a scene from the movie. Here actor Charles Hildebrandt tries to get the mother spawn to eat an exploding rubber head he has rigged in a scene from The Deadly Spawn.

CINEMAGIC #25 33

Don’t take publicity photos that crop off part of the subject’s body (in this case the elbow), unless there is

a very good reason for doing so. This is a reject publicity photo from The Deadly Spawn.

pictures; you need light and the judgment to aim it well. Screw-in photo floodlights are inexpensive (around $3.00-$4.00 per 250 watt bulb) and can be used in the clamp-on type holders often sold in camera and hardware stores for around $6.00 each (including a reflector). These holders are not designed to be used with high-wattage bulbs and if they are left on for long periods of time, the internal wir- ing will melt from the heat. This can be avoided by rewiring the holders with wire that is heavily insulated (the gauge of the wire itself does not necessarily need to be heavier).

A good basic lighting set-up adequate for portraits, small groups, and some long shots consists of the following:

e Three rewired clamp-on holders with reflectors and screw-in photo- floodlights.

e 3 extension cords 20’ to 50’ long.

e Assorted sizes and shapes of card- board (for masking light spill and making ‘‘cookies’—odd-shaped holes cut in the cardboard that throw desired shadow patterns onto the subject).

A publicity still from John Dod’s film, Grog. The background is a rear-projected background slide.

34 CINEMAGIC #25

PHOTOS: JOHN DODS

e A large white reflector (for creating softidiffused bounced light effects. A sheet is good).

e Diffusion material such as spun glass or tracing paper (used to soften the quality of the light when direct lighting is being used. The diffusion material is placed in front of the light source. Tracing paper will burn if it is too close to the light).

e Several light stands.

If large areas are being lit you will need either more light or long exposures with the camera on a tripod.

Most of the accompanying photos were specially posed in a controlled setting well away from the duress of film produc- tion. On The Deadly Spawn we set up special photo sessions—days when we did nothing but shoot publicity stills. We shot the monsters. We shot the cast. We recreated scenes from the film. We shot scenes that were not in the film at all but suggested it, and we shot portraits of the principles. | rarely use more than three lights and often only one or two—some- times with a reflector on one side of the subject in place of a light: | think that the

- resultant quantity of good shots were

more responsible for getting Spawn on- to the covers of five film magazines than anything to do with the merits inherent in the film.

The single most useful kind of publici- ty still is the one that represents a scene from the film. Art Schweitzer, president of 21st Century (a distributor of low budget horror films), says that it is common and typical for the makers of low budget flicks to be unable to provide him with the pic- toral material he needs to adequately pro- mote and advertise their pictures. Other kinds of publicity shots are formal por- traits of the cast, “behind the scenes” shots of the cast and crew (generally, shots of the crew are hard to get pub- lished except in certain technical mags), and semi-stylized shots suggesting scenes from the film somewhat abstractly.

BUDGETING This is The Deadly Spawn publicity still budget; it was more than adequate:

e 5Rollsof Ektachrome 36 exposure

ASA 160 @ $7.42 roll = $37.11.

e 2 rolls Ektachrome 36 exposures ASA 200 @ $14.84.

e Processing for above @ 5.85 = $40.95.

¢ 6 rolls Tri-X 36 exposures @ $3.20 = $19.20.

¢ 200 Sheets of 8x10 B&W print paper = $68.00.

¢ Chemicals for processing above = $12.00.

The total is $191.10.

This budget provided for a lot of pic- tures! A short Super-8 film could prob- ably be well covered for around $50.00 (for two rolls of 36 exposure color, one of black and white, processing, and about 25 B&W 8x10’s). While 5x7 B&W stills are not as impressive looking as 8x10’s and cannot be reproduced as large as 8x10’s, they are much cheaper to print and are perfectly okay to submit. While Polaroids and snapshots might occasionally be used by certain publications when nothing else is available, they are general- ly likely to be sneered at.

SUBMITTING STILLS

Editors find it hard to resist good qual- ity pictoral material and are usually very glad to see a package of good photos (properly captioned with pertinent con- cise information on the back) arrive in the morning mail. | have found that a phone call to the editor of a magazine is oftena very good way to elicit his/her interest in the material you are promoting. Letters to busy editors will often go unanswered. Don’t assume that you'll have trouble get- ting through to an editor—just call and ask for him; it often works.

The book How and Where to Sell Your » Pictures by Arvel W. Ahlers (published by Amphoto, N.,Y., N.Y. 10010) is full of prac-

‘tical advice on how to approach editors,

caption and package material, write cover letters to accompany your submissions, and research the market for your mate- rial.

MAKE THE TIME

| often hear amateur, low budget, and semi-pro filmmakers say that they just couldn't take many publicity photos of their film. This will only be true if you believe it. Problems of not having enough time, money, opportunity, or help canbe solved. Compared to the problems of pro- ducing a movie they're easy. Publicity photography should be as carefully planned and budgeted as any other aspect of a production if you want film- goers, filmmakers, and distributors to know about you and your movie. Publi- city is important. | hope you get the

picture. CW

ET _TTLT"t.tdt#"#a iii eee

Wide angle lenses can create dramatic compositions, particularly with table top set-ups. Here, John Dods (left) animates ““Grog”’ under the watchful eyes of direc- tor Tom Davis. Camera, set, animators and rear-projection screen are all included in this compelling shot. A tripod anda camera with a self-timer means the. photographer can get in the shot, too.

$TARLOG jiobo guidehoons

sin aN e

NEW!

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Just published, this newest volume in the STARLOG Photo Guidebook series on Special Effects takes you on a trip into the gleaming world of modern film wonders—the technologies that create Hollywood's special effects for science fiction, horror and fantasy movies. In this exciting book you'll read about computer animation, robot cameras and new optical processes. SPECIAL EFFECTS, Vol. 3 lets you visit the shops of many of the technical artists who make the ‘‘impossible”’ their everyday job. Lavishly illustrated with page after page of photos (many in full color) this new book takes you on the sets of recent films like Star Wars, Flash Gordon, ALIEN, The Empire Strikes Back, Altered States, The Black Hole, TV's Dr. Who, Cosmos, and more! Discover the innerworkings of Doug Trumbull’s new ShowsScan process and the new double-70mm 3-D system. If you are interested in filmmaking, here, in one volume, is your chance to learn about present-day techniques in special effects—and also glimpse what the future holds.

SFX SECRETS

SPECIAL EFFECTS, Vol. 1

See the amazing world of miniatures and model animation—from King Kong to Ray Harryhausen and TV's Land Of The Lost. Special blueprint section includes: the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Robby the Robot, the C-57D flying saucer from Forbidden Planet. Behind-the-scenes color photos from Batt/estar: Galactica, Space: 1999, The Lost Saucer and SF classics like Close Encounters, Flight To Mars, Thunderbirds, War of the Worlds, Star Trek... more!

SPECIAL EFFECTS, Vol. 2

Exclusive interviews with masters of matte painting, effects, make-up and cel animation. A festival of effects films from space epics to splatter movies—pictured in color photos and technical diagrams. Special section on making the giant squid from Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, the Time Machine from George Pal’s movie, and the Enterprise designs—from TV to theatrical. All this ... plus more!

_prenianingemneer sentiment

Add postage to your order: g Send fo: 5 B STARLOG GUIDEBOOKS total enclosed: $ NYS residents add sales tax a a 475 Park Avenue South Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery of 3rd Class | © A a New York, NY 10016 mail. First Class delivery usually takes 2 to 3 weeks. a Onn 3 Name SPECIAL EFFECTS 8 O ~ it F EF talete Har csiercertiataasnis wba wiesceia #38 E NOS WD acs Sara saie we oa insese erarere eeierece ezaseis 4 W gaceres eR enc d: ersten 8.95 ea Se Add Postage for Above: a 4 City 5 PONIES, cx danrrnern'd Oa RIBOT SH OEE $4.55 ea. Pc i ag ta sects norcncielt 31.75 60. ff State Zip ——— PRIA access secrnsicesene x iment $2.50 ea. a